Saturday, July 26, 2014

Thank you to everyone who came out to our African story-telling night! We had an awesome time sharing our experiences, future and the heart we have for this generation and the nations. Here is the video Mike and I created to give a better visual of our time in Kenya. Disclaimer: this video was shot with iPhones, hopefully by the next mission we go on we will have a real camera!

Friday, July 4, 2014

Yet again it's been awhile since I've posted a blog! I've been in the states now for almost a month to the date. It's kind of been hard adjusting back to "normal" life. And it's been interesting to see the change I have gone though internally come to surface, but those are stories for another time. I've felt today it being appropriate to write about 'Merica since it is the 4th of July! In my past I've hated so hard on this free country and I always made it publicly known. When I was in Africa I saw a lot of things that you would never see happen here in the States. Pretty much everyone I met had no dreams and a lot of it has to do with the poverty mentality of it's people, but it was hard for people to dream because they felt hopeless. They didn't have all the resources they needed, money and the list goes on. So people end up doing the same thing their families have done for generations, which is farming or working at 1 of the 4 different businesses in town. I visited hospitals that had no doctors. I saw kids dying of cancer because they couldn't afford chemo. I saw many children not being able to go to school because it was too expensive for them and people didn't always have the accessibility to clean water.

On the tail end of my journey in Africa coming back to America I was seeing a lot of really sad and hatful things that people were saying about others on Facebook. And I was burning inside with so much anger and a part of me was ashamed about how Americans have "first world problems" and people say a lot of things out of ignorance. I see Americas greed and I see the corruption. I see a lot of things that could be better here. But I realized Kenya has it's own greed and it has it's own corruption that is actually out in the open for all to see. I wanted to come back to the States with a thankful heart not a bitter one. It took me traveling half way around the world to see that America is a really beautiful country despite the things I don't always agree with. Right now we still have freedom of speech, freedom to bare arms and freedom to worship our God without being martyred! We have so many rights and we have the freedom to dream big dreams that in places like Kenya were you just don't see that at all!

How are we suppose to bring peace and love to others in our country or go around the world and love other people if we are just bitter about everything we are surrounded by?

I would just like to wish this beautiful nation a Happy Independence Day! And announce for the first time publicly that I am very proud and thankful to be an American! <3

"...put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. " -Colossians 3:14-15